PX 350M keyboard/ hammer question

[Kayman004]

Hey guys, a newbie here and reviewing posts it is clear this is a community of experts.

My son's Privia 350M has one key that is stuck in place and would not move down.  After some research I figured the hammer has come off of the slot in the key.

As it was my first time opening a musical instrument up, I was apprehensive, but was able to get the keyboard removed (after ~50 screws and disconnecting the 3 wires from the harness). This is one of the complex disassembly/ assembly I have done.

Got to the hammer and it was out of the slot and had to push it to click in place on the plastic white part that is integrated/ attached to the metal hammer.  Also the rubber end the hooks into the lot in the key was twisted around and had to straighten it. Got it all assembled back and my son played it, it was ok for a little bit, but now the same key is having some problems again. It is now making loud clicking noise and have to push the key hard for it to play. Plus the action is not smooth either.

With that context a few questions:

1. I am guessing the hammer and the attached part have separated out again. It is ok to remove the hammer and super glue the plastic part on the hammer and the metal hammer together?
2. If I replace the entire hammer would it solve the problem? 
3. If I buy a new hammer, would it come with the plastic part attached to it?
4. Are hammers for all the keys same or should I buy a hammer specific to the key?
5. What is a good online store to buy the hammer?
6. What does the rubber part attached to the end of the hammer that goes into the slot in the key do?

 

Thanks in advance for your help guys. I am dreading, but also looking forward to the intricate repair of the keyboard again. It is challenging, but am getting quite a kick out of the repair. I am handy with tools and repair, and somewhat know my way around general repairs, but this little sucker made me sweat!!

Ciao

Mel.

[Jokeyman123]

OK, studying this over-some thoughts-did you happen to take any pictures inside the 350?  If not, I'll try to help anyway. 

 

1) If you are describing the small end of the fulcrum-which has the smaller rubber fitting and press-fits onto the metal fulcrum, but snaps into the white underside notch on the key-I think you want to know if you should glue that rubber part onto the key itself? I would not do that-as it has to have some mobility as the key travels up and down. You can glue that small rubber part to the fulcrum arm itself-be very careful with that glue as it could contaminate the rubber boots that are mounted to the circuit board-glue that part away from the rubber boots. In my experience with the Privias-most of the time these little rubber nipples stay in place with repairs needed-all 3 of my Privias use this same design. I can only guess that this tiny rubber part has twisted out of place again-which will make the key almost inoperable. You might look at this part again-see if it is split-like a gasket with a crack in it-even the tiniest crack could be causing it to not stay in place. And compare its appearance to the other adjacent rubber nipples if you can-see if the rubber has become distorted in some other way-if it has swelled up from playing-it might have widened a bit and is not clearing the sides of the key where it fits as the key moves up and down-and this could be causing it to twist out of place again

 

2) IMO replacing the entire hammer might not be necessary-as long as the rest of the fulcrum looks good-i straight, and the other end has a secure weight that stays in place without moving.  which brings me to question 3....

 

3) A new hammer, if you can get one-should be complete, with both ends fully secure-IMO without seeing the part-probably better off repairing it if you can. The reason-andswering question

 

4) These hammers are weighted differently from low to high-which gives the Casio its graduated action-feeling heavier in the lower octaves and a bit lighter in the upper. Matching just one arm would be tough, only because these parts are hard to find. Casio does not sell replacement parts directly to consumers, but there are several online stores that have some Casio parts. I would try to visually match the arm in question with what you find at some of these websites-I have seen a few.

 

5) Search for used Casio keyboard parts and you will find a few. Not supposed to recommend specific vendors-but has the word Kountry in its title and another has something to do with a compass......

 

Finally...... 

 

6) This tiny part is important-when you release the key-the fact that the other end is weighted causes the key to push slightly back upwards when you release the key.  Not sure of the complete design rationale-but I think the key rebound would feel very different if this part were not there-and it also prevents the key from making a loud sound when it bounces back-its also responsible for the entire action of the key down-why it needs to have just enough clearance to move a bit-but must not be tightly bound to the underside of the key, at least that's what I recall-it needs to be free to slide inside that part of the key it fits into. I'd have to look sgain to be sure-but I seem to remember this clearance is very important to the key moving freely and still having the small nipple end in place. Like the saying goes "little things can mean alot!" 

 

One more heads-up when you need to get those screws out from the little plastic panels underneath-use poster putty to attach the screws to your screwdriver-magnetic screwdrivers don't work as well since the fulcrum arms are steel-and magnetic-and will keep getting stuck to your screwdriver when you try to get those screws out and in again. And it helps wih alot of other recessed screws, saves alot of time and brain-freeze! And a telescopic magnetic probe is also handy-like a car to retrieve bolts you drop in the crankcase when rebuilding an engine-I think keyboard repair in some ways is harder! Hope I answered your questions-I'm not an administrator here like Brad, Mike and Joe, but I do my best-did train as a keyboard tech after performing for quite awhile-but stayed in the classroom for my career, rather than going on the road-too much a homebody I guess.

[Kayman004]

Thanks Jokeyman, it is quite helpful.

The hammer has 3 parts attached to it: (1) the metal hammer itself (2) the rubber bushing at the end of the hammer that goes into the slot of the key and (3) a plastic part attached to the middle of the hammer that helps swiver/ fulcrum. The plastic part in the middle of the hammer that connects with the fulcrum seems to be coming off the hammer it sits on. That is the part I want to check if it can be glued to the hammer. Also, checking if the rubber part at the end of the hammer can be glued to the hammer itself (and not the white slot in the key), which you have answered.

Instead if using putty, what I did was to use another screwdriver to move the fulcrum arm a bit out of the way so my magnetic tip screwdriver and go it with the screw attached to it. Seems to work ok for me.